Traumatarium
A deadly famine broke out in an ancient kingdom. Wells dried up, livestock died, and the earth turned as deadly as the plague itself. Whispers spread stories about an ancient evil reawakening in the mountains looking down upon the kingdom. An ancient evil who knew only war and famine. But who shall be so brave, so insane, so vain, as to try and best the creatures that live beyond for glory and adulation?
Welcome to Traumatarium, a short Game Boy game where the goal was trying to push the visual limitations of the hardware, and create a randomly generated, visually engaging, dungeon crawling experience.
See if you can survive the the ten random rooms and defeat not juts the monsters lurking, but also the hunger as you descend into the darkest of the dungeon rooms.
Pick it up I'm physical or digital on the Nintendo Switch!
https://www.brokestudio.fr/product/traumatarium-gb/
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/traumatarium-switch/
A button -> Z
B button -> X
Start -> Enter
When in any room, you may press the Start button to bring up the menu, showing your health status, as well as vitality. You must eat food to maintain Vitality high. When depleted, Health will start decreasing. Most enemies Attack your health, but some drain your vitality as their attack of choice.
Bandages: Heal your Health
Food: Heals your Vitality
Concept, art, programming: Horatiu.NYC
Additional Art: Ansimuz
Music: AJ Booker
Built in GB Studio
Any and all donations are greatly appreciated, and if you want to support and get some extras, the Deluxe edition contains the dungeon room images as well as the intro, as well as some of the cover art. The goal would be to use the funds in order to get a custom, metal enough to feel right, soundtrack to the game commissioned, as well as working on an additional "Forest of Death" expansion to the game.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $9.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Bug fixes!41 days ago
- Thanks you so much for the support!Apr 04, 2024
- Traumatarium available for download again!Dec 11, 2023
- Happy Halloween!! Enjoy some dungeon spooks on your Switch!Oct 31, 2023
- Less than 24 hours to go! Traumatarium physical edition!Jun 20, 2023
- Let's get PHYSICALJun 03, 2023
- Limited physical release available!Sep 05, 2022
- Traumatarium GB out in full!Jun 18, 2022
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Just bought the game and immediately hit a bug where I can’t press A to start the intro (though I can press A to get to that screen). Start works to bypass it thankfully.
Only seems to affect the ‘pocket’ version. The gb rom works fine. So at least I can see the intro that way.
This is on an Analogue Pocket.
So sorry to hear! Will look into it and fix!
if i purchased a physical version from your above link would i be able to re flash the cart with and up to date rom file with all the bug fixes using my Epilogue GB Operator?
I don’t know for sure. I would say to email Broke Studio. They should be able to answer that
but would you be able to provide an up to date rom with the fixes?
happy to email you the most current ROM, just shoot me your email either here or DM me on one of my socials :)
What a fun game! Definitely wasted 3-4 hrs on this the last two days. I haven't played Penitent yet and I really hope this flushes out the ideas and gameplay you developed here. Two bugs in version 1.1 (at least on the Delta iOS emulator):
- With the spirit helm equipped the remaining enemy health, when near defeat, often migrates to the middle of the bar.
- There is a typo in the sentence "A silen clearing, soft whispers echoing through"; missing the 't' in 'silent'.
Also, have you considered switching the button assignment for choosing the left/right paths so that the left path corresponded to the left letter button (B) and the right path corresponded to the right letter button (A).
Happy to send screenshots, and thank you for making this game!
Hi, just bought the game today (gb rom file), encountered immediately the 99 gold bug, which ruins the experience :(
Also, got the graphical glitches at the end.
Can you please provide a fixed rom file?
Such a pity to encounter those bugs because otherwise the game seems great.
But I won't recommend it for the moment for those reasons nor will I look on the sequel.
I’ve been working on fixing all of the bugs and an update is coming in the next few days with all of the mentioned bugs fixed. Took a bit as I had to port the game to the newest version of gb studio, but it’s up and working so will be updating all files. Sorry it took so long but wanted to fix everything before updating the roms here. I appreciate your support and hope the new version is a good experience!
any news on og hardware glitch fixes? i dont want to spend the money only to find out the game is still broken.
super close to having all bugs squashed. Majority are fixed just fine tuning a few bits
The physical Broke Studio version is full of bugs (most notably the gold one) on original hardware, how is it acceptable to charge 50€ for this? It is generally a good idea to fully test something out before manufacturing it...
Sincere apologies! We did testing beforehand, and unfortunately it seems some stuff slipped through. We’re going to do our best to make sure we update any an all future copies. Again, apologies for your not so pleasant experience :(
Well, I found two annoying bugs within only a few minutes of playing time: The 99 Gold bug and the fact you cannot use potions if you don't have any bandages left. I'm sure there are plenty of gamers who would test thoroughly such a nice looking game for free! Hopefully we'll be able to send back the cartridge to get a new one when available.
I finally got around to playing this after purchasing it a little over a year ago, and I love it!
Now I need to figure out where to find the relics! ;D
So glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you so much for the support!!
A well made adventure in monochrome style!
thank you 🙏🙏
Absolutely love the fonts you use on your pages and in the game. Do you make them yourself or are they fonts that could be found elsewhere?
I’m trying to remember but it’s basically blackletter fonts I brought into aseprite. Googling blackletter pixel I think should find it. And thank you 🙏🙏
Hey...I just bought this game and the sequel after really enjoying the browser game, didn't realize it'd be a GB rom lol. But anyway, on playing the download version, it seems quite different and much easier since I'm getting 99 gold after every dungeon. Kinda wish it was back to the browser version's difficulty, since now I can just buy everything after 2 already easy runs :(
Maybe I'm missing options or encountering a bug?
edit: Ah, I see some folks below were having this issue and it was being worked on. For more context here, I myself was using VisualBoy Advance.
Sorry to hear you’ve run into this bug. Working on sorting out what is causing that now, hope you still manage to enjoy the games!
The Switch version is well done as well!
thanks for playing! Big fan of your channel 🤘🤘
<3 🤘 thank you very much!
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
The following text contains Spoilers! It is directed to the developer to inform him about something that seems to be a bug that is hopefully related to my hardware.
I am using an original DMG-Gameboy (1989 motherboard) with an EzFlash Jr. Cartridge (Firmware 4, Kernal 1.04e).
I breezed through this game in under an hour... More like 20 Minutes. First dungeon gave normal rewards. After that i ended with 99 Gold after completing a dungeon. After the third dungeon i had all items from the armory. I was so "lucky" that i just had to press rapidly a to get through all dungeons after the first. After the credits i got "back to town" and the lower part (where you would normally see "A=search B=leave" and stuff like that) was filled with garbage.
I can provide you with screenshots and a save data from the cartridge, if that helps.
My guess (and hope) is that it has something to do with the mapper that is used and that maybe a fix from your side is possible. I don't think the EzFlash-Team will release further updates :/
Nonetheless a great looking game! Sound/Music could have been better but for a GBS Title it is marvelous... Besides the musik ;) looking forward to future titles!
Keep up the great work!
thank you for playing and calling out those issues. Some of them are just the console being pushed too hard graphically, like the bottom of the screen bit. Between the graphics pushing too hard and the gb studio version being a beta it was built on, there is a possibility of this happening on the hardware. I’m working hard now with the most recent release to find the cause and address it, and push the next release even more both graphically and gameplay wise.
Ps. Love your username, fell in love with the genstealer cults in 3rd edition when all they had were the chapter approved rules 🤘🤘
I have the exact same issue, although I'm using the Gambatte GB emulator on a linux handheld. Nonetheless I'm happy to hear you're gonna try to fix this. Nonetheless the game is a ton of fun when I play the itch io download version on my pc. Can't wait for the update and being able to play it on the go! Keep up the amazing work!
Thanks for your reply! I am sure your next project will be as great as this one, or possibly bigger from what i can tell by looking at the screenshots.
Hopefully it will be dmg-compatible. Nothing against color but i love my big, heavy box.
I stumbled across genestealers when i was 8 or 9 years old. An older friend had hero quest, star quest and space hulk.
I started playing warhammer 40.000 when the 3rd edition came out but did not collect tyranids till the transition from 3rd to 4th edition... Now i have to many xD i also got myself space hulk 1st and 2nd edition in the early 2000 for nostalgic reasons.
Maybe a board game for the gameboy could be one of your future projects hrhrhr...
Jokes aside. Thanks again and best of luck for your future in general. Greetings from the german genestealer ;)
finished it on switch about 10min ago. i want so much more!! XD I LOVED IT, wish it had a post game or some side quests; you've got a new fan <3
thank you so much! The follow up is gonna have much more content, excited to get a demo up for you shortly 🤞 I really appreciate the support and kind words, means a lot 🙏🙏
you deserve it man, the game is extremely polished, the pixel art is on point and beautiful, it far exceeds the expectations for a short adventure!! i commend you and all the staff for it, i wish you all great success!!! ❤🙏🙌
will more cartridges be up for sale?
yep, as soon as Kickstarter rewards go out there will be physical copies available on the Broke Studio shop 🤘
I just received my kickstart cartridge from broke, I can't wait to play it. I will be happy to finish the game on the real hardware. Really excellent quality for homebrew :)
super exciting! Can’t wait to see them myself! Thank you so much for the support, it really means a lot!! 🫶🫶
I really hope we can buy this soon, really hyped to give it a spin on my Pocket!!!
downloads coming back very very soon ;)
Hell ya, just purchased and downloaded!!!
Thank you so much for the support!! 🤘🤘
How to GameBoy Roms download
download will be back up as soon as Kickstarter is fulfilled :)
ok
Any idea when this is gonna be? Just built a new DMG and I wanna play!
I’ll have to check again with them but I was under the impression of December? Also, congrats on the new DMG 🤘🤘
how can i buy the GB rom?
it will be back available as soon as the Kickstarter orders are fulfilled! sorry about the inconvenience but the updated digital rom package will be super nice :)
excited to see it *_*!!!!!!! when do you think kickstarter orders will be fulfilled?
the fulfillment said December but I know they have a good start on everything so hoping rewards go out even earlier
:DD ill be back then!
Thank you, I appreciate the support!! 🤘🤘
you can, in the meantime, also buy it digitally on switch if you’d like https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/traumatarium-switch/
Wonderful game, super freakin cool BUT I just got this on the switch and I can’t figure out how to put the screen into the handheld gameboy style mode?
so from what I understood from the port developers, removing the joycons stops the touch sensor so you can turn the switch sideways but have to keep joycons attached. I know they’re working on figuring out what’s going on
Hi! Got the digital release on Switch yesterday and love everything so far. Traumatarium has been one of the best budget pick ups I've gotten off the eshop in a while. My only question is how to farm gold. I've played all dungeons multiple times, and the only gold drop I've had was the initial drop for each boss. Even in the traumatarium, I can't seem to get gold drops. It seems as though the only way I can get more than 5 rooms into the Traumatarium will be with a better weapon or more stacked HP. Thank you in advance for any insight.
thank you so much for the kind words! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! Monsters drop gold so you should be getting more gold that way. And if you wanna enjoy the game without the stress of gold, at the new game intro where you can press a to watch intro and x to skip, press y instead ;)
is there any way to grab the Rom files for this please? I'm more than happy to pay for it.
as soon as the Kickstarter rewards go out the newest rom file and booklet will be back up :)
cool as, never thought i would be so fucking tense by reading "a monster attacks" in a game (great great great art btw)
Thank you so much for the kind words! glad you’re enjoying it!
This game look EEpik. Wish I had known about itch.io longer ago
Looking forward to playing it. :)
thank you, hope you enjoy!
Very much looking forward to buying this game. Can't wait for it to be back for purchase here!
thank you! Will post link to both digital and physical as soon as Kickstarter rewards are out :)
I for one, cant wait to throw this in my gameboy to get the full experience. I've only played the demo and loved it.
thanks you for the kind words!!
is it still possible to pay for the digital version?
yes, the digital version will be back after Kickstarter fulfillment either here or on the broke studio site :)
very cool!
Hello there! Is there any way to get a digital version of this now that the Kickstarter is over? I'd love to try this out on my Everdrive, it looks great!
Once fulfillment is over they will be available either here or broke studios site :)
Did the online GB download link intentionally get removed?
for now while we’re running the Kickstarter. Wanted that to be the focus :)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brokestudio/traumatarium/description
Is there any way to buy this digitally or has it been temporarily taken down for the Kickstarter?
Also will the older versions of the demo and full game ever be reuploaded anywhere?
currently we’re focusing on the Kickstarter but there is a digital bundle that will have great goodies in there. But yes, post Kickstarter there will be options for digital :)
hey there. I can’t share the working files for this. But most of the scripting I learned from YouTube videos, very easy to do :)
look up Robert doman on YouTube or gbstudio central articles 👍
I've downloaded this and I'm playing it on my hacked 2ds and it's amazing, I love the art and this choose your own adventure style game mechanic, it's really cool
thanks for the kind words! So happy to hear people enjoying it! It’s a niche thing, but I was a huge fan of those old fantasy choose your own adventure books
Exceptional Work! My first time here in itch.io and finding your game is so incredible! There is only one bug when choosing food but everything else is working! Keepin' codin'
thanks so much for the kind words and welcome to itch.io! You’re in for a lot of really great games!
this game is gorgeous and really fun to play! it's great
thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!
This game sucked me in very quickly! The graphics are great, and the gameplay loop is addicting. I'll definitely be coming back to this one!
That’s so great to hear! Glad you enjoyed it!!
So killer!!
thank you 🙏🙏
Hello, what's more in the Deluxe version ?
comes with the digital booklet and some of the artwork and a wallpaper I believe
very good graphics and overall design. Good game
Thank you, glad you liked the game :)
Just got around to checking this one out. Very, very cool project. Love the visuals.
thanks! Glad you dug it!
The visuals were crazy good and the game was totally fun to play! It would cool to have a little extra depth in the combat mechanic, like some basic stance that affects dealt/received damage, or a charged attack mechanic?
Very good game!
thank you for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it! This was my first go at the combat mechanics, but learned a lot so expect much more depth in future games!
Incredible art. amazing work
Thank you! Love your work too!
hey i'm trying to play and there seems to be some kind of bug? the B button never works to escape. I tried installing on itch app and I tried in my browser and it was the same in both. B works as a cancel button in menus but in rooms I can only ever attack and never escape, so there's no way for me to progress because there's no way to return to town.
“Leave” means not searching the room, which gives a much lower % chance of enemies but also of items. As for returning to town the “map” item will transport you right back to town regardless of how deep in the dungeon you are. Hope that helps!
omg...haha thanks i did not understand that :)
really love the style and mechanics but, unless i'm missing something else too, I don't understand at all how you're supposed to progress? I've played 30 minutes and I've only had enough gold to just keep buying maps so that I don't die. I managed to beat the first boss out of pure luck on like my 10th try but I didn't even get any gold from that? I think if gold generation was just higher, like maybe twice as much gold per fight, it would fix the balancing of the game. Everything else though is really great.
interesting. I’m sorry to hear you had a pretty rough path so far. Pretty much everything is procedurally generated so sometimes you may run into a rough series of results. I can double check the % of drops but you should definitely be finding food, bandages, and potions as you go through the dungeons. Also sometimes leaving to decrease encounter chances helps. I can definitely have some enemies drop a bit more gold in future releases
no worries! I tried it several times, maybe my luck is just awful haha. I can try it again but I never found a potion, never had enough gold to buy one or anything else, just kinda stuck in a loop of getting enough gold to buy a map and using it to go back to town and buying a map again.
if you want a hint to make everything super easy at the beginning you can select something that may help instead of a start
The maps are a waste of money. As long as you have cleared the boss of one dungeon, you can farm that for gold. Don't buy anything, just go through and gather enough bandages and food to survive. Do it often enough and you will accumulate wealth, maybe 4-6 gold per run. Only save very seldomly, as it is also very expensive.
I have never seen a potion drop either.